The Congressional Budget Office released an official cost estimate of the House Ag Committee’s farm bill and said it’s $33 billion over budget and fails to pay for a large increase in crop subsidies. House Ag Chair GT Thompson says if the CBO doesn’t change its mind, he’ll rely instead on the House Budget Committee to overrule the CBO.
The CBO cost estimate, released last Friday, creates a large obstacle to passing a farm bill that Congress is already 10 months late in passing.
The House bill will increase commodity supports by $45 billion over ten years, cut SNAP funding by $29 billion, and greatly restrict USDA’s use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for discretionary spending.
Thompson says the proposed limitations on the $30 billion USDA reserve would save more than enough money to offset the expense of increasing the reference prices that trigger crop subsidy payments by 15 percent.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.